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The Master of Arts in Social and Emerging Media (MASEM) program introduces students to state-of-the-art research methods, strategies and production practices for social and emerging media.
Students will learn to plan, research, write, produce and distribute professional media for multiple platforms. Specific areas of study include emerging media technologies, digital storytelling, visual design, audio and video creation, user experience production, audience and user experience research, media strategy and analytics, project management, media policy, law and regulation. The program blends technological expertise with the creative arts and promotes peer engagement and faculty mentoring.
Students will learn to approach media creatively and strategically, to understand and to respond effectively to media audiences and to engage users through compelling storytelling, arresting visual design, and adept implementation of the latest interactive technologies. This program will prepare students for work in a variety of fields that value strong written and visual communication skills, professional training in audio and video production, an understanding of new and emerging media platforms, technical savvy, training in research and data analysis, collaboration and teamwork, critical thinking and creative problem-solving.
- Core Courses
- Elective Courses
- Capstone
- Plan of Study
- Policies
Core Courses
MASEM students must take all five core courses.
SEM 601 Digital Storytelling
This course teaches the fundamentals of good storytelling while introducing techniques for engaging audiences across a variety of media forms. Students explore how sound, images, interactivity, immersive video, virtual reality and other emerging technologies are transforming storytelling practices in journalism, content writing, popular entertainment and the arts. By the end of the course, students will demonstrate what they have learned by creating their own digital storytelling projects.
SEM 602 Visual Design for Emerging Media
In this studio-based course, students learn how to integrate diverse practices of art and design as they pertain to web-based, social media and emerging visual communication. Students gain necessary skills to unify visual concepts through an engagement with aesthetics, lighting, platform modification and video presentation methods. This course also gives specific technical information regarding the use of the Adobe Creative Suite, and hands-on materials-based research with a range of tools for digital recording and output.
SEM 603 Social Media Production
This course includes technical demonstrations, in-class shoots and critiques of student work. Basic history, theory and aesthetics of related media are presented. Special emphasis is given to the rapid concepting, shooting, and editing of effective short social media content.
SEM 604 Social Media Strategy and Analytics
This course prepares students to learn and apply strategic digital communication principles for analyzing the impact of social media messages. Using data recollection and analysis techniques, students will learn how to interpret data strategically, identify relevant consumer insights, and create actionable plans that respond to challenges and opportunities.
SEM 605 Emerging Technologies and Applications
This hands-on course will explore new developments in immersive media, mixed and virtual realities, alternative and embedded screens, physical computing, AI, biosensors, trackers, etc., and explore how those tools can provide essential data on how clients and users interact with products.
Elective Courses
Students must take two of the following elective courses.
SEM 610 User Experience and Audience Research
This course covers theories and research techniques needed for understanding digital audiences’ behavior and user experience. Social psychology and consumer behavior theories and concepts will help students to identify audiences’ needs, values, and attitudes. Students will learn to apply research methods (e.g. surveys, interviews, focus groups, eye-tracking, facial mapping, and user data retrieval) for understanding user interactions with content on social and emerging media platforms.
SEM 611 Media Creation and Project Management
This course introduces students to the processes of creating and managing media projects, including ideation, prototyping, planning and budgeting, media asset management, workflows, and team communication. Students will demonstrate their mastery of creation and management concepts by researching, writing, and presenting proposals for their own media projects.
SEM 612 Emerging Industries, Policies, and Law
This course explores how industry practices, government regulation, and legal regimes influence the development and viability of emerging media. It covers subjects such as media ownership structures and industry competition, intellectual property, defamation and privacy law, SLAPP litigation, employee non-disclosure agreements, and wireless spectrum regulation.
SEM 613 Special Topics in Social and Emerging Media
This special topics course takes a deep dive into a new technology or emerging social media technique (such as VR, XR, AI, A/B testing, eye-tracking, gaming, virtual production, etc).
SEM 614 Motion Graphics and Data Visualization
This hands-on course is a practical introduction to motion graphics and data visualization for social and emerging media. Students will learn how to use storyboards and tools like After Effects to create intros, logos, opening animations, animated data graphs, and other digital assets that effectively communicate innovative ideas and tell compelling stories through motion graphics.
Capstone
SEM 700 Capstone in Social and Emerging Media
The capstone project is the final course in the MASEM curriculum and culminates in a project that demonstrates the student’s expertise in the field. The capstone experience is largely independent and students will plan and produce a project under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Students who choose to do so will have the opportunity to coordinate work on their projects with a nonprofit organization or a business in the Tampa Bay area.
Exhibition
Students present their capstones in a public exhibition with prizes awarded by an external panel of judges.
Past Winners
Winter 2025
Best of Show: Isabel Pecoraro
Second Place: Rachel Giaquinto
Third Place: Edward Lamy
Pitch Audience Award: Rachel Giaquinto
Summer 2024
Best of Show: Abigail Higgins
Second place: Paula Quinones-Roman
Third place: Katherine Porter
Summer 2023
Best of Show: Sarah Krolik
Creativity/Originality: Caroline Watson
Social and Historical Relevance: Brittany Gingerich
Storytelling and Argumentation: Lora Coonce
Technical Achievement: Amanda Woff
Strategy and Analytics: Olivia Cadrecha
Winter 2023
Best in Show: Megan Harp
Second Place: Kayla Fadiman
Third Place: Haider Al Kinani
Summer 2022
First Place: Brittany Reed
Honorable Mention: Greg Bowdler
Plan of Study
The following schedule illustrates how student progress through the MASEM program in one year based on expected course offerings.
All MASEM courses are held on UTampa's downtown campus during the evenings. Students take one course at a time. Fall, spring and summer courses meet twice a week for six or seven weeks and begin at 6 p.m., and two-week January and May term intensives meet five times a week and begin at 5:15 p.m.
| Term and Course | Credit hours |
Fall 1 (1st 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
Fall 2 (2nd 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
January Term (2-week intensive, M-F) | 4 |
Spring 1 (1st 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
Spring 2 (2nd 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
May Term (2-week intensive, M-F) Choose one: | 4 |
Summer 1 (1st 6 weeks, M/W) Choose one: | 4 |
Summer 2 (2nd 6 weeks, independent) | 4 |
Total (Degree Completed in 1 Year) | 32 Credit Hours |
| Term and Course | Credit hours |
Spring 1 (1st 7 weeks, T/R) | 4 |
Spring 2 (2nd 7 weeks, T/R) | 4 |
May Term (2-week intensive, M-F) | 4 |
Summer 1 (1st 6 weeks, TR) | 4 |
Summer 2 (2nd 6 weeks, T/R) | 4 |
Fall 1 (1st 7 weeks, T/R) Choose one: | 4 |
Fall 2 (2nd 7 weeks, TR) Choose one: | 4 |
January term (2-week intensive, independent) | 4 |
Total (Degree Completed in 1 Year) | 32 Credit Hours |
| Term and Course | Credit hours |
Fall 1 (1st 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
Fall 2 (2nd 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
January Term (2-week intensive, M-F) | 4 |
Spring 1 (1st 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
Spring 2 (2nd 7 weeks, M/W) | 4 |
May Term (2-week intensive, M-F) Choose one: | 4 |
Summer 1 (1st 6 weeks, M/W) Choose one: | 4 |
Summer 2 (2nd 6 weeks, independent) | 4 |
Total (Degree Completed in 1 Year) | 32 Credit Hours |
Academic Standards
MASEM requires a minimum 3.0 GPA for good academic standing and eligibility to graduate. Any student that fails to meet this standard will be placed on academic probation. If they don’t meet the 3.0 GPA standard within eight credit hours, they will be dismissed from the program. If they return to good academic standing during the probationary period, they must maintain a 3.0 GPA for the remainder of the program. If not, they will be immediately dismissed. Similarly, students conditionally accepted into MASEM will already be under probation during their first eight credit hours of coursework and be dismissed if their GPA falls below 3.0. MASEM does not accept transfer credits and the minimum passing grade in a MASEM graduate course is a “C.” Students may be allowed to repeat one course, but MASEM does not offer grade forgiveness. This means the original grade will still be included in the calculation of that student’s overall GPA.
Attendance Policy
As an in-person and hands-on program, MASEM requires all students to consistently attend and participate in class. While individual professors will decide how missing class will affect student grades in their particular course, the MASEM program has an absence threshold policy of 25% for all courses. As such, whether the absences are excused or not, once a student misses three days of a ten day course (January and May 2-week terms), three days of a twelve day course (Summer 6-week terms), or four days of a fourteen day course (Fall and Spring 7-week terms), they will automatically fail the course. If students anticipate being unable to meet this threshold, they should wait to take the course at another time or consider a different program. If students experience unexpected absences that cross the 25% threshold, they should withdraw from the course. If this occurs after the withdrawal deadline, students may petition for a late or medical withdrawal with proper documentation.
